Album Review: Темнозорь - Урочища снов

Artist: Темнозорь (Temnozor) [Russia]
Album Title: Урочища снов ("Haunted Dreamscapes")
Record Label: Stellar Winter (Russia)
Released: 2010 (January)
Purchased From: Ebay

Temnozor was pretty quiet for a while after the release of their second proper album, Folkstorm of the Azure Nights, but then suddenly as 2010 dawned they put out two big releases: the live CD/DVD Twilights at the Winter Funeral and the studio album Haunted Dreamscapes. I ordered them both at the same time, but it was Haunted Dreamscapes that most interested me. As is usual for Temnozor, there had been some lineup changes since the previous studio album, and because of that, and the relatively long period of time since Folkstorm, I wasn't sure what to expect. The albums Horizons and Folkstorm are highly respected among fans of pagan/folk metal, so many of us wondered if Temnozor could maintain their place towards the top of the pantheon despite the time passed and lineup changes.

Well, looking through the various reviews of Haunted Dreamscapes, it seems that reception to it has been rather mixed, but I'm pretty impressed with the album. First of all, the artwork. I have the Stellar Winter digibook edition, and the word I'd use for it is "lush." The cover is quite evocative of a dreamscape, with its gray fog and ghostly figures. The beautiful artwork continues throughout the generous insert (well, I say "insert" but it's attached to the front cover of the digibook), and one can see a mix of dreamlike and pagan visuals here. Props to Temnozor and Stellar Winter for making the effort to make this packaging really stand out.

The mystical blend of dreamscape and paganism continues with the music and lyrics as well. I don't know who wrote the lyrics to the album, though Gorruth (a non-musical member of the band and the head of Stellar Winter) is credited as lyricist on their Metal Archives page. He also wrote the lyrics to Walknut's Graveforests and their Shadows, which are very good considering English is not his first language, but all the lyrics on Temnozor's Haunted Dreamscapes are in Russian so it would make sense that these are even better. There's an excellent and poetic English translation on Metal Archives, and when I read along while listening to the music, it really helps the atmosphere. A favorite part, from "The Heart of Crane Distances," goes (in English): "Pinewoods stand like ancient armies, In the blue mists of endless distances, In the hands of autumn, I heard, The heart of my land still beats." Now, Temnozor has a bit of, let's say, "notoriety" due to past lyrics and the political positions of band members, but you won't really find any of that on this album. Perhaps it's due to the lineup changes (for instance, Kaldrad Branislav, Mr. Blazebirth Hall, is apparently not present on this album at all... I think he may be in prison).

On to the music itself, it seems that not a lot has changed since Folkstorm of the Azure Nights, though it appears that most if not all of the guitars, bass, and drums were played by live drummer Svyagir (from Walknut and various other bands). I would say that Haunted Dreamscapes, overall, has a more mellow feel to it. Yes, there's still a black metal influence present, and fans will instantly be able to identify the band as Temnozor when "Evilgod's Ravens" starts after the intro. Ratibor's unmistakeable flute can be heard throughout that track, and later in the track you can hear the distinct clean vocals of long-time member Petr. I was a little worried after hearing samples from the live CD/DVD that Petr had been replaced as vocalist, but fortunately he is here and his vocals are used a lot over the course of the album.

"Sunwheels of Solstice" (or "Kolyada," more accurately) is a pretty decent song, though probably my least favorite track on the album. Lead vocals on this are handled by new member Rodoslav, probably best known as the frontman for pagan folk band Krynitza, though he's also shown up in Oprich and Vo Skorbyah. I like Rodoslav as a vocalist, but not so much as a part of Temnozor. One of my main criticisms of the live album was that they used Rodoslav to do a lot of the clean vocals on songs that should have had Petr's voice instead. That's just personal opinion, though. Petr does sing a little on "Sunwheels of Solstice," in what I guess I would call the chorus of the song. This is a pretty heavy song, like "Evilgod's Ravens," but after this the album gets a little more mellow (and, in my opinion, becomes better).

The title track is a gentle song, with what I would call "grim whispers" along with the sung vocals. This album restores the dreamlike quality established by the album's intro that had sort of disappeared with the second and third tracks. Light synths swirl around like fog in the background, and some beautiful voice-like synths complement the melody and atmosphere. The lyrics on this track reinforce this atmosphere, with talk of burial mounds, a wizard moon on a ship (portrayed in the artwork as well), and ancient oaks. The next track, "Chalice of Morrow," is a fairly typical Temnozor track, beginning with what may be some sort of bagpipes or zhaleika, as well as the flute. I don't mean "typical" to say that it isn't a standout track, though, because it's quite good.

However, the last two tracks on Haunted Dreamscapes are my clear favorites. "The Heart of Crane Distances" begins with soft synths and acoustic guitar, and Petr's excellent vocals. It's a relaxing and beautiful track, at least until about four and a half minutes in, when it suddenly turns into a metal song. But it doesn't stop being beautiful when that happens. Petr's voice becomes stronger and more forceful, and at this point I realize that the track this most reminds me of is my favorite Temnozor song, "When the Lazure Skies Tear the Hearts Apart," from Folkstorm. And it is also at this point that I realize that, lineup changes or no, Temnozor has managed to recapture the things I loved so much about the previous albums.

Haunted Dreamscapes finishes with "Silent Be the Wind," which starts softly again but doesn't take long to become a metal song. On this track, Petr is supported by Rodoslav on vocals. It is also on this track that the band veers closest to Nationalistic themes, with the lines: "For this ancient land, for these azure skies, For our freedom we would fight till the end, Till the rivers would run red with our blood, Death is all what awaits us." That's about as controversial as they get here. As the track winds down, the guitars fade and Petr finishes the song (and album) a capella, with words that translate to: "Silent be the winds in the fields of rye. Do not disturb our slumber. Soon, as the morning rises, I will go away. Forget me not, but don't await my return." Somber and a little sad, it's an appropriate end to an album that is dark but not oppressively so.

The 41 minute running time of Haunted Dreamscapes seems to go quickly each time I listen to it. Sometimes if I don't pay enough attention to it, it just sort of glides by in the background. I don't know if that's a fault of the album so much as it is a statement about how subtle it can be. The album is solid from beginning to end, but it may be too mellow for some fans, or perhaps too "gray," if that makes sense. It feels kind of low-key compared to the past two albums, but the songwriting is good and the production values are high. I doubt that it will be held up to the same level that Horizons or Folkstorm is held, but I feel that, since its release, more and more fans have been warming up to it. It's a great little album, a minor work I would say, but one I'm glad I have in my collection. Temnozor managed to surprise me a bit, but they didn't disappoint me with this one.

Album Review: Nokturnal Mortum - Голос Сталі

Artist: Nokturnal Mortum (Ukraine)
Album Title: Голос Сталі ("The Voice of Steel")
Record Label: Oriana Music (Ukraine)
Released: 2009 (December)
Purchased From: Ebay

Back in September 2007, I reviewed the album Mirovozzrenie by Ukraine's Nokturnal Mortum, and right at the beginning of the review I stated that it was quite possibly my favorite pagan metal album. Since then I've stated the same thing about Moonsorrow's V: Hävitetty, but I think I'm ready to give the title back to Nokturnal Mortum after giving myself sufficient time to absorb the absolutely monstrous piece of art that is The Voice of Steel.

Nokturnal Mortum went a bit quiet for a while, taking a long time to work on the album. I think the title was announced way back in 2007 or so, and it took so long to work on that, during the recording of it, they had two changes to their lineup. Their drummer Odalv was replaced, along with guitarist Alzeth. Their replacements, Bairoth on drums and Astargh on guitar, join Varggoth, Saturious and Vrolok. Odalv and Alzeth can still be heard on one or two tracks, but the majority of the album was recorded with the new lineup. While this is usually no big news, since Eastern European pagan metal bands seem to change lineups every other week, and Nokturnal Mortum has been pretty much a revolving door of band members since the beginning (with only Varggoth and Saturious being the "core" of the band since back in the demo days), in this case it seems to have actually made a difference in the sound of the band.

This "new sound" is not apparent at first. Following the typical instrumental introduction (with the now-familiar battle horn and nature sounds leading into an interesting folky tune), the band immediately turns the intensity level up to 10 with the first proper song, "The Voice of Steel." Nice clean vocals, war-like drums, Varggoth's aggressive black metal shout... yep, this is nice, this is familiar. It's like all the good things about Mirovozzrenie, except refined even further. In fact, the clean vocals are really, really good. There were some clean vocals towards the end of the previous album, but these are more like Moonsorrow's wordless background chants, like a chorus of warriors. Already, with barely 10 minutes under our belt, The Voice of Steel sounds fantastic. However, the song isn't really a departure from the sound of Mirovozzrenie, so people who didn't really care for that album may already dismiss it.

The next track, "Valkyrie," starts off sounding like pretty typical Nokturnal Mortum. It's a little faster, and the synths are a little more modern and less "symphonic" (ie: not sounding like strings and choirs), but the only real difference, at first, is that Varggoth's vocals sound a little more distant, not as up-front. But then, in an instrumental break about four minutes in, the funky guitar and bass start. I don't really know how else to describe it. Not being used to the band using anything more than distortion on their guitars, it's initially jarring to hear different effects being used, as well as the bluesy-jazzy style that is played. But then I start to dig it. I start to really dig it. This long instrumental part lasts for four minutes, and it may be enough to single-handedly cause even non-fans of Nokturnal Mortum to prick up their ears and start listening. The song gets back into a more typical mode, but the impression has already been made. Nokturnal Mortum has tinkered with their established style and have come up with something amazing.

I'm getting ahead of myself, but the strange thing about this album is that it basically alternates between tracks that more closely resemble the previous two albums with tracks that utilize the funky guitar effects and more progressive, even psychedelic, elements. I don't know where these elements came from. Perhaps new guitarist Astargh?

At any rate, after "Valkyrie" the band continues with "Ukraine," a powerfully uplifting track with some nice violin and addicting clean vocal bridges and choruses. If ever a better track has ever been written about one's home country, I haven't heard it. Then again, I live in America, where those songs tend to be awful country-pop anthems. "Ukraine" doesn't have any of those new guitar effects, but it does have a nice solo. It seems like such a new experience to be paying so much attention to the instrumentation on a Nokturnal Mortum album. This has never been a band that has banked on their instrumental prowess. The guitars, drums, and bass have always just kind of been there. Sometimes, as in the case of the guitar on the classic Goat Horns album, they were so buried underneath the keyboards that they might as well have not even been there.

After the excellent "Ukraine," the band gets back into their mystical psychedelic mode with "My Dream Islands," with a long, beautiful intro. This song perhaps best blends the "old" with the "new," as there are some perfectly placed bagpipes to be heard on this track. It just has such a wonderful atmosphere that it manages to even top "Ukraine" in terms of pure musical splendor. It's at this point that I almost thought I was dreaming, because it seemed impossible to be listening to something this unexpected and awesome. But, indeed, repeated listens have confirmed that it really is that great, and its greatness has not diminished in the year and a half or so since I first heard it. Towards the end of this song, I can really detect how much fun the band is having on this album. The interplay of guitars, bass, keyboards, and drums seem so effortlessly playful and fun that I can hardly believe this is the same band that has stirred up so much controversy in the past.

The momentum of the album slows a bit with "Path of the Sun," which I believe may be the first song that was recorded for the album, since it features both the former guitarist and former drummer. It reminds me quite strongly of the material on Mirovozzrenie, especially the folky parts after the chorus and towards the end of the track. It's not a bad song, but it's a bit of a letdown after the last few songs.

Nokturnal Mortum throw it into folk rock mode with "Sky of Saddened Nights," which is as melancholy as its title would imply. It's a very nice track, though, with some beautiful flute and acoustic guitar. It also allows the listener to catch his or her breath before unleashing the final massive dose of awesome, "White Tower." Now, at this point it seems impossible for the band to top what they accomplished earlier, with tracks like "Valkyrie," "Ukraine," and "My Dream Islands," but they manage to do it with finesse and confidence with the album's final track.

On "White Tower," everyone gets a chance to shine. The drummer channels his inner funk early on, while the synths go sort of "ambient house" on us. It's amazing that this even works with Varggoth's aggressive vocals in the mix. As the song fades out, I tend to sit there with my jaw on the floor, trying to comprehend what I've just heard. This is Nokturnal Mortum? Where did this come from?

Wherever it comes from, I hope it continues. With the band's ever-changing lineup, I'm not sure it will (bassist Vrolok has apparently already left the band since the recording), but I suppose that even if the planets never align in the same way as to allow the band to recapture the creative spark that inspired The Voice of Steel, we will always have this, at least.

A perfect album? Maybe not quite, but it's about as close as I've heard. Absolutely essential. Worth checking out even if you don't generally like symphonic black metal or folk metal.